scholarly journals Forcing of the Indian Ocean Dipole on the Interannual Variations of the Tropical Pacific Ocean: Roles of the Indonesian Throughflow

2011 ◽  
Vol 24 (14) ◽  
pp. 3593-3608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongliang Yuan ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
Tengfei Xu ◽  
Peng Xu ◽  
Zhou Hui ◽  
...  

Abstract Controlled numerical experiments using ocean-only and ocean–atmosphere coupled general circulation models show that interannual sea level depression in the eastern Indian Ocean during the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) events forces enhanced Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) to transport warm water from the upper-equatorial Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean. The enhanced transport produces elevation of the thermocline and cold subsurface temperature anomalies in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean, which propagate to the eastern equatorial Pacific to induce significant coupled evolution of the tropical Pacific oceanic and atmospheric circulation. Analyses suggest that the IOD-forced ITF transport anomalies are about the same amplitudes as those induced by the Pacific ENSO. Results of the coupled model experiments suggest that the anomalies induced by the IOD persist in the equatorial Pacific until the year following the IOD event, suggesting the importance of the oceanic channel in modulating the interannual climate variations of the tropical Pacific Ocean at the time lag beyond one year.

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (10) ◽  
pp. 4207-4228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Duan ◽  
Yuanlong Li ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Fan Wang

AbstractInterannual variabilities of sea level and upper-ocean gyre circulation of the western tropical Pacific Ocean (WTPO) have been predominantly attributed to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The results of the present study put forward important modulation effects by the Indian Ocean dipole (IOD) mode. The observed sea level in the WTPO shows significant instantaneous and lagged correlations (around −0.60 and 0.40, respectively) with the IOD mode index (DMI). A composite of 14 “independent” IOD events for 1958–2017 shows negative sea level anomalies (SLAs) of 4–7 cm in the WTPO during positive IOD events and positive SLAs of 6–8 cm in the following year that are opposite in sign to the El Niño effect. The IOD impacts are reproduced by large-ensemble simulations of a climate model that generate respectively 430 and 519 positive and negative independent IOD events. A positive IOD induces westerly winds over the western and central tropical Pacific and causes negative SLAs through Ekman upwelling, and it facilitates the establishment of a La Niña condition in the following year that involves enhanced Pacific trade winds and causes positive SLAs in the WTPO. Ocean model experiments confirm that the IOD affects the WTPO sea level mainly through modulating the tropical Pacific winds. Variability of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) induced by IOD winds has a relatively weak effect on the WTPO. The IOD’s impacts on the major upper-ocean currents are also considerable, causing anomalies of 1–4 Sv (1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) in the South Equatorial Current (SEC) and North Equatorial Countercurrent (NECC) volume transports.


2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 2845-2861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongliang Yuan ◽  
Hui Zhou ◽  
Xia Zhao

Abstract The authors’ previous dynamical study has suggested a link between the Indian and Pacific Ocean interannual climate variations through the transport variations of the Indonesian Throughflow. In this study, the consistency of this oceanic channel link with observations is investigated using correlation analyses of observed ocean temperature, sea surface height, and surface wind data. The analyses show significant lag correlations between the sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean in fall and those in the eastern Pacific cold tongue in the following summer through fall seasons, suggesting potential predictability of ENSO events beyond the period of 1 yr. The dynamics of this teleconnection seem not through the atmospheric bridge, because the wind anomalies in the far western equatorial Pacific in fall have insignificant correlations with the cold tongue anomalies at time lags beyond one season. Correlation analyses between the sea surface height anomalies (SSHA) in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean and those over the Indo-Pacific basin suggest eastward propagation of the upwelling anomalies from the Indian Ocean into the equatorial Pacific Ocean through the Indonesian Seas. Correlations in the subsurface temperature in the equatorial vertical section of the Pacific Ocean confirm the propagation. In spite of the limitation of the short time series of observations available, the study seems to suggest that the ocean channel connection between the two basins is important for the evolution and predictability of ENSO.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-50
Author(s):  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Gang Wang ◽  
Matthew Newman ◽  
Weiqing Han

AbstractThe Indian Ocean has received increasing attention for its large impacts on regional and global climate. However, sea surface temperature (SST) variability arising from Indian Ocean internal processes has not been well understood particularly on decadal and longer timescales, and the external influence from the Tropical Pacific has not been quantified. This paper analyzes the interannual-to-decadal SST variability in the Tropical Indian Ocean in observations and explores the external influence from the Pacific versus internal processes within the Indian Ocean using a Linear Inverse Model (LIM). Coupling between Indian Ocean and tropical Pacific SST anomalies (SSTAs) is assessed both within the LIM dynamical operator and the unpredictable stochastic noise that forces the system. Results show that the observed Indian Ocean Basin (IOB)-wide SSTA pattern is largely a response to the Pacific ENSO forcing, although it in turn has a damping effect on ENSO especially on annual and decadal timescales. On the other hand, the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is an Indian Ocean internal mode that can actively affect ENSO; ENSO also has a returning effect on the IOD, which is rather weak on decadal timescale. The third mode is partly associated with the Subtropical Indian Ocean Dipole (SIOD), and it is primarily generated by Indian Ocean internal processes, although a small component of it is coupled with ENSO. Overall, the amplitude of Indian Ocean internally generated SST variability is comparable to that forced by ENSO, and the Indian Ocean tends to actively influence the tropical Pacific. These results suggest that the Indian-Pacific Ocean interaction is a two-way process.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (13) ◽  
pp. 3083-3105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annalisa Cherchi ◽  
Silvio Gualdi ◽  
Swadhin Behera ◽  
Jing Jia Luo ◽  
Sebastien Masson ◽  
...  

Abstract The Indian summer monsoon (ISM) is one of the main components of the Asian summer monsoon. It is well known that one of the starting mechanisms of a summer monsoon is the thermal contrast between land and ocean and that sea surface temperature (SST) and moisture are crucial factors for its evolution and intensity. The Indian Ocean, therefore, may play a very important role in the generation and evolution of the ISM itself. A coupled general circulation model, implemented with a high-resolution atmospheric component, appears to be able to simulate the Indian summer monsoon in a realistic way. In particular, the features of the simulated ISM variability are similar to the observations. In this study, the relationships between the ISM and tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) SST anomalies are investigated, as well as the ability of the coupled model to capture those connections. The recent discovery of the Indian Ocean dipole mode (IODM) may suggest new perspectives in the relationship between ISM and TIO SST. A new statistical technique, the coupled manifold, is used to investigate the TIO SST variability and its relation with the tropical Pacific Ocean (TPO). The analysis shows that the SST variability in the TIO contains a significant portion that is independent from the TPO variability. The same technique is used to estimate the amount of Indian rainfall variability that can be explained by the tropical Indian Ocean SST. Indian Ocean SST anomalies are separated in a part remotely forced from the tropical Pacific Ocean variability and a part independent from that. The relationships between the two SSTA components and the Indian monsoon variability are then investigated in detail.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (22) ◽  
pp. 5889-5902 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludos-Herve Ayina ◽  
Abderrahim Bentamy ◽  
Alberto M. Mestas-Nuñez ◽  
Gurvan Madec

Abstract Several oceanic operational programs use remotely sensed fluxes to complement atmospheric operational analyses from major national weather prediction centers. The main goal of this study is to evaluate the ability of the ocean model (ORCA) to correctly simulate the dynamic of the tropical Pacific Ocean in 1996–98 when forced by the satellite turbulent fluxes (wind stress and latent heat fluxes). The results are compared with the oceanic response resulting from forcing the model with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) operational analysis. Three sensitivity simulations forced with satellite and atmospheric analysis fields are performed. The control experiment is forced with the ECMWF fluxes. The solutions of these simulations are compared with data from the Tropical Atmosphere–Ocean (TAO) buoys and from sea surface temperatures analysis by Reynolds and Smith in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The analysis results indicate that the model reproduces well the major spatial and temporal oceanic structures including the main characteristics of the 1997–98 El Niño. More specifically, the comparisons with buoys indicate that the experiment forced by the winds and the satellite latent heat fluxes is closer to the observations. They provide weak rms difference and strong correlations along the whole 500-m depth column. Furthermore, the correlations with the SST analysis vary between 75% and 95% compared to 65% and 77% for the experiment forced by ECMWF fluxes. The currents in the first 350 m also show a strong sensitivity to satellite turbulent fluxes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (23) ◽  
pp. 8205-8221
Author(s):  
Tarun Verma ◽  
R. Saravanan ◽  
P. Chang ◽  
S. Mahajan

Abstract The large-scale and long-term climate impacts of anthropogenic sulfate aerosols consist of Northern Hemisphere cooling and a southward shift of the tropical rain belt. On interannual time scales, however, the response to aerosols is localized with a sizable imprint on local ocean–atmosphere interaction. A large concentration of anthropogenic sulfates over Asia may impact ENSO by modifying processes and interactions that generate this coupled ocean–atmosphere variability. Here, we use climate model experiments with different degrees of ocean–atmosphere coupling to study the tropical Pacific response to an abrupt increase in anthropogenic sulfates. These include an atmospheric general circulation model (GCM) coupled to either a full-ocean GCM or a slab-ocean model, or simply forced by climatology of sea surface temperature. Comparing the responses helps differentiate between the fast atmospheric and slow ocean-mediated responses, and highlights the role of ocean–atmosphere coupling in the latter. We demonstrate the link between the Walker circulation and the equatorial Pacific upper-ocean dynamics in response to increased sulfate aerosols. The local surface cooling due to sulfate aerosols emitted over the Asian continent drives atmospheric subsidence over the equatorial west Pacific. The associated anomalous circulation imparts westerly momentum to the underlying Pacific Ocean, leading to an El Niño–like upper-ocean response and a transient warming of the east equatorial Pacific Ocean. The oceanic adjustment eventually contributes to its decay, giving rise to a damped oscillation of the tropical Pacific Ocean in response to abrupt anthropogenic sulfate aerosol forcing.


2007 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 1266-1281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristopher B. Karnauskas ◽  
Raghu Murtugudde ◽  
Antonio J. Busalacchi

Abstract A reduced-gravity ocean general circulation model of the tropical Pacific Ocean is used to determine potential improvements to the simulated equatorial Pacific cold tongue region through choices in horizontal resolution and coastline geometry—in particular, for the Galápagos Islands. Four simulations are performed, with identical climatological forcing. Results are compared between model grids with and without the Galápagos Islands, with coarse and fine resolutions. It is found that properly including the Galápagos Islands results in the obstruction of the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC), which leads to improvements in the simulated spatial structure of the cold tongue, including a basinwide warming of up to 2°C in the east-central Pacific. The obstruction of the EUC is directly related to the improvements east of the Galápagos Islands, and for the basinwide reduction of the tropical cold bias through an equatorial dynamical adjustment. The pattern of SST warming resulting from the inclusion of the Galápagos Islands is similar to that of the known cold biases in ocean models and the current National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Forecast System. It is thought that such an improvement would have a considerable impact on the ability of coupled ocean–atmosphere and ocean–ecosystem models to produce realistic clouds, precipitation, surface ocean bioproductivity, and carbon cycling in the tropical Pacific Ocean.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document